Black Lives Matter | MLK Jr Sunday Billerica, Massachusetts

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1963 “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” ripples and echoes through much of the Black Lives Matter movement. This letter to fellow clergy explained why he and his colleagues had been willing to break the law in order to carry forward the work of acquiring civil rights for all Americans. Join us as we recommit ourselves spiritually to the fight for racial and social justice.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day recognizes the birth of the civil rights leader who led marches and boycotts for equal rights in the Southern United States. His inspiring words and actions remind Americans everywhere to work for racial, economic, and international justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday enacted by Congress in 1983. In 1994, Congress named it as a day of service to the community in recognition of Dr. King’s service to the world community.

Black Lives Matter (or #BlackLivesMatter) is a movement and a stance in response to this reality: the United States was built on a legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression that continues to take new, ever-changing forms. To say that “black lives matter” doesn’t mean that black lives are more important than other lives, or that all lives don’t matter. The systemic devaluing of Black lives calls us to bear witness, even as we acknowledge that oppression takes many intersecting forms.